The Sun Rises
by SpecNut
Summary: Dar isn't himself, and Tao finds himself in a very unfortunate situation.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: ** _Ah, Beastmaster. I used to watch this show way back when. It would air on network television (no cable for me!) on Saturday afternoons along with some equally cheesy fare. Yes, cheesy it may have been, but it somehow wiggled its way into my heart. Could it have been the scantily-clad men and busty women running about the forests? The cutting-edge special effects? Or perhaps the fine acting? Alas, no. It was the nerdy sidekick. Because damn, do I have a thing for sidekicks._

_It's been years since I've seen the show, so it was a little startling to have this pop out of my head one day at work as I stared mindlessly at my computer screen. Just a little blurb, the beginnings of a possible story that may or may not come to fruition. Not a particularly popular fandom (it was, after all, a very cheesy show) but hey, the little voices in my head told me to write it. So here ya go! At least its not a big time commitment! ;D_

* * *

The hardest thing to remember as he looked at the man before him was that this was NOT Dar. This cold warrior with the dead eyes and menacing blade was not his friend-the blood dripping between Tao's shaking fingers as he clutched his left arm was proof enough of that. This...thing...had never chatted companionably around a campfire, or cradled a sick orphaned lion cub, or smiled at Tao's overenthusiastic babble. It had never laughed or cried or mourned the passing of a loved one. It was not a living thing, for all it moved and breathed in Dar's physical form.

And that was the cruelest joke of all. Even if he wasn't nearly petrified with fear and confusion, Tao could not defend himself against the body of his friend, though it held the will of a killer. Because-unlikely as it may be, Tao thought with a slightly hysterical internal laugh-what if he hurt it? What if he managed to injure it in his escape? What would that mean for Dar, wherever he was? Tao was afraid to attempt a confrontation at the risk of his friend, and wasn't so sure about his odds of success anyway. So barring a miraculous manifestation of Tao's previously-undiscovered fighting prowess, there remained only one option: escape.

Forcing his frozen limbs into motion, Tao backed slowly away from the soulless thing. It followed him with Dar's eyes and the Beastmaster's blade, tracking him with the sword's point as Tao cautiously rounded the spent ashes of last night's campfire. Carefully, slowly, hoping the gleam in the thing's eyes wasn't as predatory as it seemed, Tao began to back out of the circle of trees that had sheltered them the previous night. One step...then another.

He hadn't taken three steps before Dar's powerful body slid toward him like a shadow over the forest floor, closing what little distance the Eiron had gained. Tao froze, his eyes wide with near-panic. The sinuous, heartless motion frightened him. Frightened him in an ancient and powerful way that left his muscles quivering with suppressed energy. _Run!_ they screamed at him, and only a fleeting memory kept him from bolting.

_A great black cat, all crouched shadows and teeth, rumbled low in its chest. Tao gasped, tried to run, but Dar's strong hand wrapped around his arm, rooting him. "Don't turn your back on a hunter," came the calm voice, "unless you want him to hunt you. Show him you're afraid, and he will see you as food."_

That black cat...so very like the man standing before him now. But the cat hunted to survive and feed its young. This thing hunted only for the joy of slaughtering its prey, like those poor farmers they'd found in the last village. Was this what had happened? Had someone they knew, someone they loved and trusted come to their door with empty eyes? With a chill that seeped into his bones, Tao knew that to the evil inside Dar's body, he was already prey.

No use making it obvious though, right? He certainly _felt _like prey as he carefully began backing up once more, hoping against hope that it would let him go if he avoided making any sudden movements. But again the thing followed him, step for step. The rough bark of a tree brushed his shoulder and he moved to press his spine into its trunk as if he could absorb it's strength. He felt safer somehow with the tree at his back. An illusion, he knew, but he'd take any kind of comfort he could get right now. He swallowed against the dry lump that formed in his throat. This wasn't working. He had to try something, anything.

"Dar," he tried saying as he trembled against the tree. But the tree remained impassive, and Dar's name caught in his fear-tightened throat and came out in a gasping squeak. At the sound the thing moved forward another step, raising Dar's blade above Tao's head in a slow, sinuous, deliberate motion. Tao's heart clenched.

In a flash he saw the horrifying outcome: the blade would fall, Tao would drop to the ground bleeding, dying. And Dar would come back to himself covered in his friend's blood. It would destroy him. Destroy them both. Whichever enemy had brought this on didn't need to slay the Beastmaster to defeat him utterly. He didn't even need to fight him.

"Dar," he whispered again, and this time the word came out right. But the thing's slack face gave no indication that it heard. Instead, its muscles tensed, coiled with Dar's strength.

The blade sang as it fell.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N:**__ Alas, Tao's bad luck continues. He can thank penstroker...this chapter probably wouldn't have been written if I hadn't decided to look at my own story for ego's sake and noticed a review waiting for me. Exciting, especially as I hadn't thought anyone was reading! Thanks for the motivation! :)_

_Also, forgot the disclaimer in chapter 1, but I obviously don't own BeastMaster or any of its characters. And if I'm making money off of this I sure don't know about it._

_Incidentally this story is un-beta'd, so if you notice any horrible errors in spelling and grammar you can blame me._

* * *

Tao's heart stuttered, and his body reacted despite his mind's stunned paralysis.

Feet scrabbling on dead leaves, his first panicked lunge pitched him sideways and under the deadly swinging blade. He struck the ground hard, rolling painfully over roots and rocks. Slipping on the mulch, Tao scrambled to his hands and knees only to fall back down with a cry as his wounded left arm refused to hold him.

His clumsiness saved his life. The blade sliced through the air over his head a second time and bit deeply into the gnarled tree behind him. The Eiron rolled away desperately, pushing himself up once again, using only his right arm.

He ran.

He ran faster than he'd ever run in his life. Faster than he'd run from the Terron soldiers, faster than he'd run from the Blood Priests in Xinca. His boots pounded on the forest floor, kicking up leaves and twigs and occasionally hooking on roots and rocks, tripping and slowing him as he fled. His breath came in panicked gasps, and he fought to keep it steady.

If he'd had any doubt before, it was gone now. Dar would never have tried to kill him, no matter how angry he was. Tao's chest heaved with exertion and despair, and every footfall felt like a betrayal of the friend he'd left behind. Dar wouldn't have left him if it had been Tao's body taken. The Beastmaster would have stayed, fought, and won his friend back from the jaws of Hell. And what did Tao do? He ran away and left Dar to his fate. He didn't have the skill or the strength to defeat the warrior, nor presence of mind to outmaneuver him. Even the Eiron's prized intellect had failed him in the face of this horrific development.

Fear. _I'm afraid,_ he thought in disgust. Then how afraid was Dar, wherever he was while that thing used his body?

Tao didn't look back, he daren't, but somehow he knew that Not-Dar was following, barely having to jog in his friend's fit body, waiting patiently for Tao to fall or tire. And he would tire far too soon. He hadn't had a chance to check the wound on his arm; he knew it was there, oozing hot blood over his right hand as he tried to hold it closed. It didn't seem life-threatening, but he couldn't spare the time or the attention for more than a glance. It was all he could do now to avoid running headlong into a tree or collapsing on the spot.

His footfalls were growing heavier even now, and he was finding it difficult to keep up his breakneck pace through the forest. Another root seemed to reach out and grab at his foot, and he narrowly avoided falling. The image of Dar's blade stuck in that tree trunk flashed across his memory and he righted himself, thanking his elders for that small head start at least.

He didn't get a chance to complete his thanks before the ground fell out from under him.

Instinctively he rolled to protect his head and insides; if there was anything Tao knew how to do properly (besides talk), it was fall. The forest flipped, and he closed his eyes against flying dirt as he went head over heels down the slope he hadn't seen. His shoulder hit the ground first with a bruising thump, then his hip, knees, arms, and shoulder again. And again, and again. He would have cried out, but another impact knocked the breath from his lungs.

The shocking cold of water was completely unexpected. He struck its surface with enough force to feel like he'd been slapped and it rushed into his unprepared nose and mouth, keeping him from the air he so desperately needed after his headlong flight.

At the cold slap of water, the cessation of his frantic running and tumbling was more than a little disorienting. Tao felt nothing but cool swirling water, heard nothing but its muted rush. He saw nothing through the black of his eyelids. His limbs stopped their movement and drifted as his mind-for the second time that day-refused to function as it struggled to take in a new set of circumstances. For a moment, the only thing in the world was the sensation of water moving around him, between his fingers, ruffling his hair, cooling the wound on his arm. It was almost...peaceful.

Then his brain recognized the danger and snapped to reality with a surge of emotion, and his body reacted once again with life-saving instinct. He tried to swim for the surface, but cold fear clenched in his belly when he felt nothing but more water. His lungs heaved and strained against the lack of air, and he fought desperately to keep them from taking in water instead. The blood pounded in his ears as he thrashed even harder. The sound of approaching darkness and death. His rising fear gave way to complete panic, and he flailed his arms and legs trying to find the surface. But there was only water. He choked, swallowing his first mouthful of water, and thrashed even harder.

But then, in the midst of his panic there was calm, like stepping into a sheltered cave during a windstorm. He stopped flailing, his limbs went limp once again - this time by conscious effort rather than mindless disorientation - and the water embraced him almost gently. Suddenly he could hear his own thoughts again, and they spoke to him in a voice that sounded suspiciously like Dar. _Think, Tao. Open your eyes. Even an otter couldn't tell which way was up if she didn't look._

He opened his eyes, not having realized they were still closed. Blurred light and muted shades of blue and white and black swirled around him. But the light was coming from below and to the right. Light meant the sun, and the sun meant the sky, and the sky meant air. With his already-blurred vision beginning to gray, Tao forced his weakened limbs to push through the water toward that light.

After what felt like several tortuous minutes but was probably only a few seconds, Tao's head burst above the water and into the sunlight. He dragged air into his lungs over and over, coughing out water with every breath, trying to stay afloat long enough to get his fill. But the river - for a river it was, now that he was able to take note of his surroundings - had other ideas.

No sooner had he filled his lungs than he was tossed under the water yet again. But this time he was prepared, and though his lungs still burned and longed to expel more of the water they'd taken in, he held his breath and righted himself, turning so his feet were faced downriver and straightening his body to flow with the current. Slowly, forcing his fear to the back of his mind, he brought himself to the surface again, working with the current instead of against it.

He was rewarded with several ragged lungfuls of air and a view of the river he'd tumbled into. It was a large river, deep in the middle where he was now floating, but not so wide he couldn't get to one of the banks. Choosing one at random as he had no idea which bank he'd come from, he began an awkward one-armed backstroke toward shore.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **_I'm back! And now we get to hear from Dar._

_Apologies for the poor formatting in the original posting of this chapter. Should be fixed now, but if anything looks terrible let me know!_

* * *

Dar looked out over the river, taking in the beauty of the scene and the fresh morning breeze that flowed through its valley. He breathed deeply, tightening his grip on the sword in his hand, then froze.

They'd made camp at least half a mile from the river last night to avoid the paths of the night hunters who drank from its fresh waters. He'd woken early this morning to meditate on a mossy log just outside camp. Tao had been chatting away at Kodo and Podo, grumbling about rocks under his sleeping roll and breaking Dar's concentration. Ruh was hunting the next valley over to avoid any squabbles over territory, and Sharak was wherever Sharak went when he was feeling pensive. All of that was clear in Dar's memory. But why did he now stand on the riverbank holding his naked blade? Where were Kodo and Podo? And Tao?

At the thought of his friends, something shivered inside of him. Not knowing what prompted it, he turned around quickly and looked back into the forest, half expecting to see some large stalking predator. But there was nothing.

Nothing but signs of passage that hadn't been there yesterday when he'd scouted the area. His own near-invisible trail was evident to his practiced eyes - a soft impression in the loam, a bent bit of grass, and a faint drift of his own scent hanging among the branches.

But a second trail, unsubtle as a charging boar, wove across and alongside his own. Broken twigs, crushed undergrowth, and scraped bark echoed fear and desperation. A bright brush of wet crimson against green leaves spoke of injured prey fleeing a cunning and powerful predator. Human prey, he thought, troubled by the conclusion. He touched the leaves and his fingertips came away stained with fresh blood - the trail was only minutes old. And what of the predator?

Instantly more alert, he circled the area carefully, searching for further signs to complete the disturbing tale told by crushed leaves and broken twigs. A hunting cat had come this way earlier in the morning, but not for a meal. It's steps were closely-set and unhurried and it hadn't lingered. Day-old deer spoor and small, precise hoof prints dotted a small clearing nearby, and other small signs and rustlings of more timid woodland creatures breathed around him - all natural in a healthy forest. Yet something was not right.

Uneasy, Dar gripped the hilt of his sword more firmly, eyes flicking to the blade when it flashed in a stray beam of morning sunlight. His heart skipped. In an instant his eyes were back on the sword, which he now raised to examine more closely, resting the flat of the blade in his left palm.

Red streaked the steel and had just begun to darken with exposure to air. Blood. There was blood on his blade. Fresh, human…

"Tao," he whispered, horrified.

His knuckles whitened around the grip as he resisted the urge to hurl the blade into the river and forced his mind to calm. He closed his eyes and took a breath. It might not be true. The blood wasn't necessarily Tao's. He didn't remember what had happened, didn't remember stalking his friend through the forest like prey. Didn't remember kicking Kodo into a tree when she nipped his ankle trying to stop him. Didn't remember Podo's frantic pleading, or Tao's cry of fear and pain and -

Breath whooshed from his lungs as though he'd been punched, and he dropped to his knees in shock. He did remember.

Like a nightmare through a fog of cold bloodlust, he watched the events over again in his mind. Felt freezing tendrils grip his soul while he meditated a few paces from camp, felt that horrible thing fill him from his heart to his fingertips, felt it revel in his body's capacity for violence. Watched himself kick the pot of boiling water his friend had been preparing for tea, gasped as his blade lashed at the Eiron without warning or explanation, drawing blood. Choked on his own breath when Kodo's little body struck the tree and fell limp to the ground.

Dar's eyes snapped open and he fell forward to press his palms into the damp leaves, shaking his head in horror. What was this? What had he done?

His thoughts darted and flashed like so many river fish, scattering in every direction. With great effort, he tried to still them, slow them down so he could look at them one by one. Kodo. Tao. He needed to find them, needed to make sure they were all right. Make sure they were alive. Where was Sharak? And Ruh? Were they safe as well?

Leaning back to sit on his haunches, he ran his fingers through his hair and squeezed his eyes shut again, trying to remember how to breathe, trying to regain the centeredness he needed to call to his animal friends. Sharak first. Sharak could help him find the others.

After a moment or two of careful breathing and focus, calm returned to still the surface of his thoughts. Though his emotions still roiled with fear and confusion, his conscious mind was steady enough for what was needed. It was a forced calm, but it would suffice.

Knowing Sharak, his habits and preferences, he cast his mind on the wind to the east, following the thread of kinship he shared with his longtime friend. Unlike his other animal companions, Sharak could think like a man, and had been long enough in the world to understand love and loss, anger and fear. He would not refuse Dar contact because of the human's turbulent and confusing emotions. And because Sharak's mind was as keen and his will as strong as Dar's own, they could often speak with, or at least signal, one another at great distance.

As he expected, Dar sensed the sharp edge of Sharak's mind after very little searching. Sharak was hunting, working off a feeling of restlessness that head come upon him late yesterday afternoon. He was just swooping down for the kill, magnificent eyes focused and talons outstretched, the heady rush of fulfillment flooding his being, when he sensed Dar's desperate call. Like any hunter interrupted during a kill, he instinctively swiped at Dar's mind in frustration. But unlike any other wild thing Dar had ever known, he back-winged immediately and, with an apology, turned his full attention to Dar while his prey escaped to live another day.

Dar sent his own apology for the sudden inturruption, but Sharak brushed it aside as unnecessary.

_What has happened?_ he asked.

Unable to explain properly, Dar opened his mind to let the relevant memories flow across the connection. It was all he could do to keep them under control. Sharak was a wise creature with great experience, but even he would break the connection if Dar's emotions threatened the safety of his mind.

Apparently he'd stayed coherent, because as soon as he finished relaying memories, the eagle sent a powerful suggestion to stay put.

_Do not seek the others_, Sharak ordered. _I will find you._

Dar sensed Sharak turning westward and let the connection slide away. Still fighting his confusion and fear, he shifted to sit cross-legged on the leaves, ignoring their dampness and breathing deeply. Though he longed to check on his friends to ensure their safety, Sharak's warning had been firm. He knew he was in no fit state to make a sound decision, and he trusted the eagle's judgement. He would wait.


End file.
